Holiday
by Antares700
Summary: Sonic and co get a holiday from GUN in tropical Hawaii. But even Hawaii can't keep them out of trouble. And is romance in the air? Second in my Sonic humans series and a Silvaze fic.
1. Chapter 1

This was what life was supposed to be

This was what life was supposed to be! Pulse racing, adrenaline pumping, life and death a mere hairs breath apart. Sonic, fastest thing on Earth was plummeting at terminal velocity. From this high up, he felt like a god. Nothing, nothing could ruin his mood right now.

"Pull your chute Sonic." Sonic sighed. Nothing except Shadow! You'd think that being the ultimate life form would at least let him have some sense of adventure.

"Why didn't you wait for us to land?!"

"Loosen up, will ya!" Sonic called back into his throat mike. He spun in the air, taking pleasure in the freedom of zero gravity. His altitude meter read 20,000 feet.

"Why didn't you wait for us to land?!" Shadow repeated into his ear.

"Because there's no fun in that!" He flipped, heading straight for the ground at full speed. To him world looked like a giant game board. He angled himself to point at the small island in the sea of blue. "Whooo Hoooo!"

A fighter jet pulled along beside him as he reached 15,000 feet. Sonic glanced into the cockpit. At the pilot's seat was a thin, lanky blonde boy with loose T-shirt and goggles round his neck. His eyes were fixed on the controls of the jet. Next to him was an older boy with spiked black hair with red streaks, a leather jacket, jeans, crossed arms and cold red eyes. Sonic couldn't actually make out his eyes, but they were always cold. In the back, a muscle bound boy with red dreadlocks and a prim, pink haired girl were arguing, most likely over him.

Sonic didn't even need to see them to know what they looked like or what they were doing. He knew them so well that all their movements were like a second sense to him. Tails would be focused on his job, Shadow would be angry, Knuckles would be yelling about him being irresponsible and Amy would be defending him.

"Sonic," Tails voice sounded. "You've passed 15,000 feet! You're in danger!" Sonic laughed.

"Lighten up Tails!" He saw Knuckles grab the mike.

"Sonic, pull your chute now or I'll throttle you with it!" Sonic winced as Knuckles booming voice went straight into his ear. He heard the muffled sound of Amy yelling at Knuckles over the comm. He glanced at his altitude reader. 10,000 feet.

"You guy's are no fun, you know that," he said as he pulled his parachute.

"I wish he wouldn't do that!" Espio muttered.

"Aw, come on Espio," Silver said from the back seat. "It's not that bad."

"You were ready to jump, weren't you?" Blaze accused him.

"So?"

"You don't have a parachute on."

"SO?!" Blaze sighed. Silver was her best friend, and a psychic, but sometimes he just didn't get the meaning of over the top. Espio was at the controls of the team's second jet, the Whirlwind, with Silver and Blaze as his passengers. Sonic had been next to Silver, until he'd activated his ejector seat to get a thrill.

"We're coming up to the airport now," Espio said. The jet dived towards the landing strip, coming in low and hard behind Tails in the Tornado. Out the window, Blaze saw the small blue figure of Sonic land with a great splash in the sea alongside.

As they exited their respective jets, they were met by men and dancers with necklaces of flowers. These were placed round their necks. Shadow stared with disdain at this, as did Espio. The picture of these two serious figures in something so colourful was a perfect picture to start the week. Then a short, plump man in a flowery shirt walked up to them.

"Children, welcome to paradise!"

This is SPEED, GUN's top team of agents: Shadow, Sonic, Silver, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Espio and Blaze. They are a group of teenagers with powers that mean they are only ever called in emergencies. But for this week, they aren't GUN agents; they aren't fighting some inhuman enemy. For this week they're on holiday, and hope to stay that way.


	2. Chapter 2

As a reward for their last successful mission, Mr. Rose, the head their GUN unit and granted them a week in Hawaii, all paid for. They'd all leapt at the chance. Seven days without having to worry about evil super villains or giant robots. What could be better?

They'd rented a set of flats near the beach: private, spacious and clean. Silver threw himself down into his bed in the room he was sharing with Espio.

"This is gonna be great!" he called to his roommate. "Surf, sun, sand! This is perfect." Espio just nodded. Silver glanced over at him. Espio was removing a worn dartboard from inside his bag. Silver sighed with exasperation. "Espio, were on holiday! Relax for once!" Setting the target on the door, Espio walked away from it. With blistering speed, he spun and hurled one of his ever accessible Kunai at the board. It hit the pinprick sized bulls eye with a solid thunk.

"I am relaxed," he told the flabbergasted Silver with what resembled a smile.

"OK, so what do we do first?" All eight of them were gathered in the flat's lounge room, with wide screen plasma and giant boom box.

"Shopping!" said Amy. Everyone groaned. "What?!"

"Let's start that again," said Sonic. "Do we go to the beach, the volcanoes or the city first?"

"Beach!" rang nearly everyone. Amy began sulking. Blaze looked at her feet. This almost went unnoticed. Almost. While everyone else went to change, Silver went to Blaze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she muttered. Silver raised his eyebrow.

"Come on," he said. "I know you better than that!"

"Okay, let me rephrase that!" she snapped. "Nothing important." Silver looked hurt.

"Fine, be that way," he said and walked upstairs. Blaze groaned. She shouldn't have snapped at him. It was just…sigh. Silver was so naïve, he wouldn't understand! She went upstairs to change.

Sonic was first down. He was in board shorts and a shirt. Shadow and Knuckles dressed similarly, but Knuckles seemed to have 'forgotten' the shirt. "Bit smug, aren't we?" Sonic told him. Knuckles just smiled and flexed. Espio was in boardies as well, but had still managed to clip his kunai into place.

Silver and Tails were both in wetsuits. Sonic sniggered. "Why are you wearing those?" Silver just held up his hand, displaying the aqua tattoo on his palm.

"Yeah, I really want the world to see these all over my body!" Perturbed, but not beaten Sonic turned to Tails.

"I have tails, remember." Tails had accidentally given himself a pair of bushy fox tails in one of his multiple experiments. Sonic sat down in silence.

"High five!" Silver and Tails slapped hands.

"Hey, wait for me!" everyone looked at the stairs. Sonic's mouth fell open. Amy was coming down the stairs, in next to nothing. Her small bikini seemed more for show than for any real use. She gave a stunning smile at the gaping Sonic. Everyone else had found something else in the room of great interest.

"You're as bad as Knuckles, you know that!" Shadow told her while still staring at the kitchens stainless steel stove. "Where's Blaze?"

"Here," said Blaze. Unlike everyone else, she was in shorts and T-shirt.

"We're going to the beach Blaze," pointed out Knuckles. Blaze snapped her fingers, producing a flame.

"Pyrokinetic's don't swim." She picked up her beach chair and led the way out.

Hawaii is famous for it's beaches, it's surf and it's volcanoes. This meant that the beaches were packed. Surfers, families, natives and tourists all took their places in the sun. As it was, there seemed to be more surfers than usual.

"What's up?" Sonic asked.

"Surfer's gold comp," Shadow told him.

"Oh and how do you know that?!" Shadow pointed to the sign advertising it. "Oh."

"I say we enter," Silver proposed.

"I'm in!" said Knuckles. Shadow, Tails and Sonic also agreed. "You've never been on a surfboard," Knuckles told Sonic. "You can't even swim!" Sonic shrugged.

"How hard can it be?" Silver leaned over to Blaze.

"Please tell me you brought your camera," Blaze smiled and produced one. "Perfect!"

Blaze set up her chair as the contest began. Espio, who'd opted against entering, stood beside her. She turned to him. "How do you think they'll go?" Espio rested his head in two fingers, showing he was thinking.

"Well, Tails and Silver have the advantage; they're both skilled in the air. Knuckles is just good at this kind of stuff, so is Shadow."

"What about Sonic?" Espio gave a chuckle, not something that came lightly.

"Let's just say you'd better keep that camera ready." He looked up. "Well that's unusual." Blaze followed his gaze. A boat was resting in the shallow harbor.

"It's a boat at rest, so what?" The boat looked like a private yacht.

"Yes, but this is a closed harbor," Espio told her. "There shouldn't be allowed in here, but the securities not picking them up." Blaze didn't even bother asking how he knew this. Espio's idea of fun was looking up random locations and memorizing facts about them.

"It's probably just some rich old guy who paid to weigh anchor here," she concluded. Espio wasn't convinced. Blaze glanced out to sea. Tails was executing a jump that would be classed as impossible by most surfing guides, spinning while doing so. The crowed cheered. Trust Tails to define what can't be done. She turned to Espio, but he was gone. He'd probably gone to investigate the mysterious boat. She lay deeper in her chair. Maybe this holiday wouldn't be so bad after all.

After about an hour of watching the guys flipping, diving and crashing on the surf, Blaze noticed a group of surfers looking at her. They were four of them, all big and muscle bound, probably not particularly bright either. They were the types people either adored or loathed. She didn't take much notice, taking more interest in the surfing action. Then one of them came over, blocking her sunlight.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"How old are you?" The question was curious, out of place, but innocent enough.

"14, why?" The boy went back to his group without answering her. She heard a bit of sniggering, but ignored it. Then they started calling.

"Hey flat chest, what's up?" She looked up. They laughed maliciously.

"Hey bustless, what's wrong?" She turned bright red. One of them even threw sand at her.

This was why she hadn't wanted to come to the beach. It always ended with this, people insulting her figure. She hated it! Was it such a crime not to have giant breasts?!

"No wonder you're here alone, no one could like you!" That did it! She slowly stood up from her chair.

"Ooo, what's she going to do." A small crowd had gathered to watch now. Fucking vultures! They just wanted to see someone else getting put down to make themselves feel big. One of the surfers, the largest and probably the leader, made a rude gesture. She pounced.

In half a second, Blaze's hand was curled round the big man's throat. He eyes had gone a fiery orange with the combination of rage and power. His grin disappeared instantly and the colour in his tanned face faded. She gave him a smile, showing her teeth. "You'll regret that!" she promised him. Then her knee cracked up into his crotch. He squeaked meekly, but she wasn't done yet. Catching her shin between his legs, she threw him into the air and followed. Around 3 meters off the ground, she flew above him. His face, she noticed, was a mixture of surprise and pain. She sent a tremendous kick down into his overly muscular chest, sending him into the sand with the force of a landing helicopter.

With grace, Blaze landed beside the still figure. Two of the remaining surfers charged at her. Uncoordinated and untrained, it was almost too easy. She flipped over them, cracking their heads together with two satisfying cracks. They thudded to the ground as she moved to the last of them, the one who'd asked her about her age. He backed away.

"You can't do this!" he stuttered, fear evident in his voice. "My dad works with GUN. There'll be consequences!" She laughed. It wasn't her usual light, joyful sound. The sound was chilling and hollow.

"GUN?" she said, quickening her pace. The boy tripped over his own feet. "Tell you dad you assaulted a SPEED member." Her hand went round his neck, pulling his face close. "See how he reacts." She raised her fist to strike.

"Blaze?!" She turned around. Silver and Tails had broken through he ring of spectators. They were staring in utter shock at the scene before them. Blaze looked back at the man in her hands. He fainted from terror and stank of urine. She looked back at Silver, his look of disbelief. All her rage left her. Throwing down the limp body, she ran off with her face in her hands.

"Wait!" Silver raised her hand, but she was gone. His friend gone without answering him, he rounded on the crowd. "What happened?"


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the house, Sonic was coming back from an unsuccessful surfing attempt. Espio, having found no lead about the unsanctioned yacht, had come back with him.

"Come on Espio! Why won't you do it?"

"Because it's low, immoral and bloody disgusting."

"Aw Espio come on! You disappear, go in and take some pictures. It won't take a second."

"For the last time Sonic…" They stopped. Someone else was in the house. To be precise, in the computer room. Espio pulled his kunai off his belt. Sonic had nothing. "You don't have a spare, do you?"

The two of them crept down the hall. Another sound resonated from the room. It was laughter! An elated, joyful sound that was full of life. Espio listened carefully. The voice was male, adolescent and slightly gruff. There was something else, something familiar about the voice. As they came to the doorway Espio signaled for Sonic to wait. Concentrating, he allowed his skin to disappear, making him invisible to human sight. Now safe, he took a look into the room. What he saw was neither frightening nor threatening, but simply shocking. Even with his rigorous training, Espio still let out a sound of surprise.

"What is it?!" Sonic hissed. He pushed past Espio's form and peeked inside. He gasped in shock as well. In the room was Shadow, but not the Shadow they knew. He was leaning back in the chair in a relaxed position, and his hands were behind his head. This couldn't be the uptight, serious Shadow they knew. But there was something more. He was smiling! His face looked relaxed, serene. If Sonic didn't know better he'd almost say he was happy. A pair of headphones and a mike was connected into his laptop, and Sonic could just make out a webcam perched on top. Shadow's body blocked the screen, so whoever he was talking to couldn't be seen.

"You can't be serious!" the two eavesdroppers heard Shadow say. "There's no way he'd do that!" Espio strained to hear the reply, but the headphones were too good quality, so no sound escaped. Shadow laughed again, the same melodic and joyous note they'd heard earlier. Shadow pressed the headphone close to his ear, listening carefully. "Hold on, I'll go check." He took off his headset and began to turn. Sonic was out the front door at just short of sonic boom speed, and Espio wasn't much slower.

Safely on the front porch, Sonic turned to Espio. "Who do you reckon that was?"

"Don't know," he muttered. Sonic gave him a suspicious look. There was little Espio didn't know, and SPEED members private lives weren't the tightest kept secrets. Espio saw the look. "You investigate Shadow's private life, you're walking a knife's edge."

"Meaning?" Espio gave a sneer.

"He'll kill you if he catches you. Or worse." Sonic gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of what Shadow could do.

"Come on though, you must be curious." Espio waggled his finger at him.

"Let me give you some advice Sonic. The secret to being good at something is to know when to quit." Espio walked back inside.

"Coward!" Sonic yelled after him. Shadow walked into Espio as he went back into the computer room.

"What's he yelling about?" he asked. Espio shrugged.

"No clue."

The sun began to set over the beach, sending fingers of orange and red lights shining on the tropical waters. From the roof of the flats, Blaze stared out to the horizon, barely noticing the beauty of the sunset. She'd been sitting up here for most of the afternoon, trying to recover her thoughts from the events on the beach. She wiped tears from her eyes. Why did it always have to come to that, people teasing her because of her powers, her body, anything! She just wished they'd accept her for who she was, not tell her what she should be.

"Here you are!" Surprised, she looked over at the edge of the roof. Silver was attempting to pull himself up. Deciding it was too much work, he just used his powers to levitate himself up. He walked carefully across the roof and sat beside her. He didn't say anything, just stared out to sea and waited. If she needed to tell him anything, she'd tell him whether he asked or not.

"They were taunting me again," she said.

"Uh huh," Silver had already found this out from the crowd.

"Why do they do it Silver? Why do people choose to try and hurt others for fun?"

"I don't know," he replied. "People fear what they can't understand, and sometimes this fear turns into cruelty. They see what they think is weakness, and exploit it to make themselves feel strong again." There was a pause as the island wind whistled past.

"I didn't really hurt them, did I?" Silver chuckled, which gave Blaze her answer. She moaned.

"Well, the guy you nailed first can't walk properly anymore and none of them are going to go near you again," he smiled. "From what I heard they deserved it." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"They thought I was ugly," she nearly whimpered. She turned to Silver. "You don't think I'm ugly do you?" The question took Silver by surprise. His face blushed pink.

"I…err well…I think…"

_CRASH!_

"SONIC!!!"

Blaze leapt up. "I'd better go check that." She gave Silver a quick hug. "Thanks Silver, you're the best." She did a quick run, and then somersaulted off the roof and swung into the third story window. Silver smiled for a few seconds after she left. After he was sure she was gone, he gripped his head, looked to the sky and screamed with frustration.

"UUUHHH!" Why hadn't he just said it? Just a few more words from his stupid, god damned nervous lips! Why?! Why couldn't he just say it?! He gave another frustrated grunt.

"You need some work Silver." Silver snapped round. Espio was leaning against the chimney stock, smiling with infuriating smugness.

"How long have you been standing there?" Espio kept smiling.

"Long enough." Silver's head flopped into his hands.

"How much do you want?"

"What?! For my advice?"

"No, for you not to tell Sonic. Or Amy." Espio gave him a hurt look.

"Come on friend. What type of man do you think I am?"

"What type of man spies on his friend trying to talk to a girl?

"Hey, I wasn't up here to spy on you?!" Silver's look said he doubted that.

"If you're not up here to watch me, why are you up here?" Espio pulled out his binoculars, pointing to the boat in the bay.

"I've been trying to work out what that boat's doing there," Silver gave an exasperated sigh.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe the only illegal thing they are doing is being there?" Espio handed him the binoculars, angling them perfectly.

"If they're so legit then why are there armed guards?" He was right. A group of heavily armed natives were gathered round the few entrances to the wharf the yacht was anchored at.

"So what are you going to do?" Silver asked his curious companion. Espio shrugged.

"I'll work that out tomorrow," he took the binoculars back and kept watching the ship. Silver went to go back inside. "Silver," Espio called as he went to the roof's edge.

"Mmm?"

"Just tell her how you feel straight out," he told him. "She'll appreciate you more for it." Silver grinned at him and jumped off the roof into the madhouse.

The next day, Sonic was no closer to finding out who Shadow's mystery contact was. He'd tried looking through Shadow's bags, no pictures. He'd tried checking his E-mails, no dice. He even tried hacking the GUN database to trace the connection, but he gave up at the sight to the 13 place password. But would he consult defeat? No. He just needed some outside help.

"Let me get this straight." Tails was sitting in the room he and Sonic were sharing. A welding mask was stuck over his head and parts were scattered over the bed in various stages of repair. As training was Espio's way to relax, fixing stuff was Tails'. "You want me to hack into a government owned system, breaching my confidentiality contract, for what?"

"There's some surfing tips in the network I need for tomorrow's comp," Sonic lied. Tails looked at him suspiciously.

"Why don't you ask Espio?" he questioned. "He the professional hacker."

"Espio's a dick! He won't help me."

"How long is the password?"

"Thirteen digits." Tails' eyebrows shot into his fringe.

"Thirteen digit passwords are used for space projects and spy intelligence. You're telling me that GUN surfing tips are as well guarded as a mole's identity?!"

"Are you going to help me or not Tails?" Tails groaned.

"You know, if we get caught I loose my access creditentials." Sonic shrugged. "So glad you understand," Tails muttered as he went to the computer room. Once there, it didn't take long for Tails to get into it. His initial skepticism was lost in the excitement of trying to crack the problem.

"Know what to do?" Sonic asked him. Tails' fingers flew over the keys typing and accessing different programs.

"Let's try the override code," Tails muttered to himself. He typed in 'CHAOS'. The computer beeped a negative. Unperturbed, Tails continued typing, muttering suggestions to himself. After a good ten minutes, Tails gave a small smile. Sonic, a bit drowsy, didn't notice for a second. Then the digits began to show up on the screen of their own accords. Sonic's eyes fluttered open.

"What did you do?" Tails smile widened.

"Residue memory," he explained. "The computer 'remembers' the last time the correct password was used. This means I can retrieve that memory." The computer gave an encouraging ding, along with a green 'access granted' sign. "We're in!" Tails nearly cheered. A list of contacts ran down the screen, all the same address. Sonic leaned in to read it.

"The Ark? What the hell is that?"

"Hold on a sec," Tails continued to type. Sonic looked over his shoulder, a reaction people have when doing something dangerous or illegal. He was damn lucky he did, otherwise he wouldn't have seen Shadow walking in. Quick as lightning, Sonic hit the cancel key. The screen went blank. Tails was stunned. "Sonic, why'd you do that?!"

"Damn! Sorry Tails!" Sonic said. "I accidentally cancelled your game." Shadow began to come over.

"What are you talking a _YOWW!_" Sonic's leg whipped out into the smaller boy's shin. Shadow, obviously thinking it wasn't important, left. Sonic sighed in relief. Then let out a yell of pain as the computer chair rammed into his leg.

"What was that for?!" Tails looked angry, nearly frighteningly so. His voice came out in a menacing whisper.

"Sonic, tell me what's really going on. Now!"


	4. Chapter 4

Day two of the holiday had gone without anything happening. No fights, no discoveries, absolutely nothing. Silver had tried to talk to Blaze, but every time he tried his tongue stuck in his throat, effectively stopping any kind of intelligent conversation. Sure, Espio's advice was good but as long as he couldn't talk, it was useless.

Next day, Amy had forced them all to go shopping, since predicted rain had cancelled the surf comp. Well, most of them anyway. Shadow had bluntly refused to go, and when Shadow made up his mind it usually stayed that way. Espio was just uninterested, and wasn't scared by Amy. This is actually quite an achievement, right up there with single handedly destroying an Egg Carrier. So with them still sleeping, everyone else followed Amy out of the house at 6a.m.

Hawaii's capital city, Honolulu is not a giant metropolis. It's more like a costal city, as much in tune with the sea and nature, creating a city of immense beauty and harmony. Many of its buildings are dedicated to traditional Hawaiian beliefs and pastimes. Not that it didn't have a traditional American shopping mall. Amy immediately dragged Sonic into the clothes section. Knuckles followed, looking for clothes himself. Silver followed Blaze into one of the clothe outlets. He had planned to talk to Blaze here, but there were so many people around, he got too nervous. So instead he was stuck giving clothing advice, man's worst fear.

They met up again for lunch, Amy now owning a full new wardrobe, which Sonic had to carry. "Honestly Amy," he complained. "Do you really need all this stuff?"

"Of course," she told him. Tails glanced inside the bags. He pulled out a one of the items.

"How much was this?" he asked. Amy shrugged.

"$40."

"And how many times are you going to wear it?" She gave another unconcerned shrug.

"Twice." Tails put his head in his hands.

"The sad part," he muttered to Knuckles. "Is she still doesn't see what's wrong." Knuckles was wearing a new shirt as well.

"What is wrong with that?" he asked. Tails just let his head drop with a thud to the table top, utterly stunned by their stupidity.

"So what do we do now?" Silver asked.

"Well, Blaze and I are staying," Amy said.

"We are?"

"Blaze, you need a new wardrobe, trust me." Blaze didn't see what was wrong with her current one. Amy could see what she was thinking. "All you have are purple cloaks and tights! You need some variety girl, and I am just the one to show you."

"Well fun as that sounds," Sonic said. "I think I'll head back to the beach. Who's coming?" Tails quickly agreed, as did Knuckles. "What about you Silver?" Silver shook his head.

"There's something else in town I have to do first. I'll catch you back at the house." He headed towards the shops again. Amy, followed by a reluctant Blaze, headed that way too.

"Remember the busses stop at 4," Tails called after them.

"Don't worry," Amy called back. "We won't be nearly that long!"

Espio sat in his room, binoculars trained on the boat that had taken up so much of his attention over the last three days. It wasn't that he didn't have other interests, he did. It's just that this was the most interesting. Mysteries fascinated the purple haired boy beyond anything else. What, he thought, was better then finding out what someone was trying to hide, whether it was a criminal, an ancient architect or one of his own team? Besides pure adrenaline, nothing.

Now that the others were out of the house, Espio had the perfect silence to conduct his watch of the boat. Shadow was back in the computer room, and from what Espio had heard, he wasn't coming out any time soon. It wasn't that he didn't like his teammates. They just didn't understand the meaning of peace and quiet. Or silence. Or 'For the love of God, leave me alone!' Maybe once he solved this mystery, then he'd have time for some of what they thought was 'fun.' Espio looked into his binoculars. He'd noticed this morning that a second boat had entered the harbor, and now this intruder had reached the previous yacht. Espio wanted to know what it was doing.

Out in the bay, the native guards were putting a gangplank out to the boat. It seemed that the boat was carrying someone of great importance. But who could it be? If Blaze and Silver were right, then it was probably some important lord or rich businessman. This was completely plausible. But where was the interest in going on what was plausible? A flash of movement caught Espio's attention. He turned the binoculars slightly, focusing on the bow of the ship. A man, no a child, was walking out from below deck. He was dressed like a typical teenager, in dark blue jeans and a long sleeved blue shirt with a yellow ring on both the front and the back.

_"Strange," _Espio thought. _"Wearing that sort of shirt in this type of heat would neatly kill you!"_ In a completely out of character state of mind, Espio had abandoned his usual long jacket and thick purple shirt in favor of a thin silk shirt of the same colour, the heat was that intense. He looked back at the boy. His hair was a metallic blue and spiked back. It actually resembled Sonic's nearly perfectly, just a bit more artificial. His skin also seemed unnaturally pale, like a person who had never seen daylight. The boy approached who Espio assumed was the leader of the guards. The guard did not look happy, and Espio thought he could understand why. He'd probably been expecting some big, rich boss type man, and instead there was just some kid. He stormed up to the unusual boy. The muscular native towered over the boy by a good head, and he used this as he began yelling his head off. With his lip reading skills, Espio could almost make out what he was saying, and it pretty much summed up what the ninja detective had thought. The boy just sat through this entire line of abuse, no emotion showing on his face. This only seemed to infuriate the man more, and soon his words became more and more violent. Still the boy stood with his arms crossed, waiting. Finally, the guard raised his fist to strike the boy. Like lightning, he acted. The boy's hand came up and caught the giant's hand. Espio was shocked, and the guard looked the same. Espio couldn't see the boy's face, but he did see the boy's fingers, which he now noticed were extremely sharp, dig deep into the guard's hand. He yelled in pain, and Espio thought he could almost hear the anguished noise. Who was this unnatural monster, and what was he doing here. One thing was sure. There was definitely something going on.

_Slam!_

Sonic suddenly burst into the room, the hyperactive boy running round like a bat out of hell.

"Hey Espio! What ya doing?" He slapped the quiet boy's back, causing the newly agitated spy to drop his binoculars over the edge of the building. Espio made a desperate swipe at them, but missed. The binoculars fell to Earth, smashing painfully on impact. Espio stared in horror down at them. Sonic looked over his shoulder. "Oh. Opps." Espio turned to him, rage in his eyes. "Now Espio," Sonic said while backing away. "Remember your anger exercises. You're not allowed to kill anyone!" Espio ignored him and pulled out one of his Kunai. Sonic turned and ran at full speed back out the door at full speed, as Espio disappeared in pursuit.

"Get back here Sonic!"

"Tails! Knuckles! Shadow! Help me!"

"So what's going on with you and Silver?" The two girls had been wandering between stores collecting a huge credit bill for at least 4 hours now. Though she was reluctant at first, Blaze had actually begun to have fun by the end. Whatever others might think, she was truly female.

"What?" Blaze muttered.

"What's going on with you and Silver?"

"Nothing!" Blaze said, calm. "He my best friend, nothing else." Amy gave her a knowing smile. "I'm serious!"

"You can't fool me," Amy told her. "I have a sense for this type of thing!" Images of Amy trying to chase Sonic sprang unbidden into Blaze's mind. She thought the sensor was a bit faulty. "So do you like him? And if you say you're just friends I will assume yes." Blaze sighed.

"Yes, I like him. A lot. But…" She looked at her shoes. They were new and shiny, but damn uncomfortable and impossible to move in. What had Amy called them? Oh yeah, fashionable.

"But…what?"

"Well, I don't think he likes me like that." Amy started laughing. Blaze stared at her murderously. This was something really important, and she was laughing.

"You can't be serious!" she said between outbursts. "He spends all his time with you! How can he not like you?!" Blaze had become distant, ignoring her. Amy sighed and looked down at her watch. "5:26?! When did it get so late?!" The girls began rushing for the bus terminal.

When they got there the busses were long gone. Amy moaned in despair. "Now we have to catch a taxi."

"Not likely," Blaze told her. "All the taxis will be near the airport. We'll have to walk home." Amy's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"W-w-walk?!" She ran over to the ticket booth and began banging on the door. "Get Another Bus Running NOW!" Blaze decided she'd rather start walking home then try to explain for her friend. How embarrassing!

Barely ten minutes into her walk, it began to rain. Just her luck! Blaze hated water. It's cold, messes up everything, sticky. It also shuts down her pyrokinetic powers, making her vulnerable. Shivering, she continued going. Her first mistake. Her second came when she decided to try and cut through some of the corners by taking a back alley. Here the rain poured off the two adjacent roofs, making it seem even heavier. A few groups of poor and homeless hung around under meager shelter. Blaze was really beginning to regret leaving Amy at the terminal. Some of the people were watching her, making her nervous. Suddenly a voice came up behind her. A menacing, dark and threatening voice. A familiar voice!

"Hello flat chest."

_"Shit!"_ she thought. She jumped away as the hulking surfer tried to grab her. Five more forms began to move towards her. She recognized two of them as the surfers from the beach, one as Silver had described had a slight hesitation in his walk. This wasn't good. She looked around for a way to escape. The alley was very narrow, with only two directions. She was trapped between three goons in each direction, lined up so she couldn't jump them. The rain was neutralizing her powers, meaning a fight would be dangerous. She looked up. The roofs were a possibility. But the men were closing in fast. Taking a quick run up she tried to scale the wall. The bricks were slippery and the mortar between them fairly new, unlike everything else, so she couldn't get a grip. She'd have to fight.

The first one to reach her obviously hadn't been at the beach. He charged her head on, and was sent packing by her palm impacting on his forehead. A second opponent came behind her, but her leg lashed out and hit his chest, winding him. Blaze winced as the pressure of the kick went through her shoe. These shoes were not meant for fighting or comfort. Why had she bought them?!

Another one of them came at her, warier than his predecessors. He'd been one of the one's at the beach. "Where's your last friend, the GUN boy?" she asked.

"Coward," he muttered. "We kicked him out!"

"Lucky boy." Quick as lightning, she jumped at him, using her foot to send his head into the side wall. He slumped, unconscious. A fourth tried to strike her back, but was knocked down as she effortlessly threw his unconscious friend into him. His skull made a satisfying crack on the pavement. Someone grabbed her in a bear hug, pinning her arms. She squirmed and tried to kick him, but he banged her against the wall. The shock nearly knocked her out, but not quite.

"Careful!" called the last surfer. He'd been the leader from the beach. "I don't want her broken, yet."  
"Bastard," she spluttered. There was blood in her mouth. He walked over, bringing them face to face.

"Say that again," he was smiling sinisterly, showing two rows of unkempt teeth. She spat in his face. He wiped the blood away. His smile turning into a sneer. "I'm going to enjoy this." He slapped her, hard. She recovered easily.

"That it?" she muttered. His sneer remained as he slapped her again. "I can do better to myself than that!" she was closing in on blacking out, but fought against it.

"You'll regret what you did," his voice broke slightly. But the cruel sneer remained as he pulled something from his belt. It was a knife! Blaze's eyes widened.

"N-no need for that!" she was seriously frightened now. Before she was guaranteed to get away. The surfer smiled again. Blaze tried to flare up, but her clothes were soaked with the rain.

"Let's see whether you cut normally, freak," his eyes glinted with an insane enjoyment as he touched the blade to her cheek. He drew back to slice. Blaze closed her eyes.

Nothing.

She opened one eye. The man's arm was frozen, an aura of blue surrounding it. He was staring at it in horror. She saw it with hope.

"Silver…" she murmured. Exhaustion swept over her and she slumped to the cold, wet ground.

At the end of the alley, Silver's was standing, arm raised and power flowing through every follicle of his being. He'd been trying to catch Blaze since she'd left the station. Now that he had, he'd seen the knife and what was about to be done. The man would regret ever being born.

A different feeling to a few seconds before ran through the two would be attackers. The leader tried to run, but Silver's psychokenisis held him in place. His friend dropped Blaze's body and turned tail. Silver let him go. He had better ideas of who to punish.

"You're going to regret getting out of your hole today, worm," he seethed. He raised his hand. The struggling surfer was lifted from the ground. "Really, really, regret it!" He floated up after him, bringing himself above him. The switched positions to how he'd been looking at Blaze less than a minutes before. Silver gave him the exactly the same smile which the big man had used before. Not that he knew that.

"Mercy?" he pleaded weakly. He didn't really expect to get a good answer. Silver swung his arm, its tattoos glowing.

_Slam!_

The body crashed into the side wall. Silver brought the body back in front of him. "No." The body moaned. Still smiling, he lowered his hand. The surfer dropped like a stone, hitting the ground hard.

_Crunch!_

Silver dropped lightly and ran over to Blaze. His rage was gone and now he was afraid. Her skin were cold. "Come on, Blaze. Wake up." He felt her pulse. It was strong. Then her eyes fluttered open.

"Silver," she murmured. He smiled.

"I'm here," he said comfortingly. She coughed.

"I was so scared," she'd begun to cry. "He was going to…"

"I know," he told her. "He can't hurt you anymore." Suddenly, Blaze threw her arms around him, sobbing openly into his shoulder. Surprised, and still nervous, Silver didn't quite know what to do. He liked her, but didn't think she liked him back. And he didn't want to loose her as his friend. But here she was, hugging him. So he hugged her back. "You're OK," he said. "You're OK." Suddenly some urge overtook him. He leaned over to her ear. "I love you," he whispered. But she'd already fainted again.


	5. Chapter 5

"You bloody, brainless, fucking idiot!" Shadow yelled at Silver. Them, Sonic, Knuckles and Espio were all standing in the living room. Blaze was being checked over by Amy and Tails.

"What was I supposed to do?" Silver yelled back. "He had a knife at her throat!"

"He's got a point Shadow," Knuckles told him.

"Yes, but did he have to bash him against the wall?! Couldn't he do something less…?"

"You say violent and I will smash you!" When Silver and Blaze had finally limped back home, Shadow had been angry about them being late. Once Silver explained what he happened, skipping the part where he sent the leader into the brickwork, he'd been angry that they'd nearly got themselves killed. Then a call had come from GUN headquarters, asking about reports of a group of residents being assaulted by two kids with unnatural powers and battle training. Now he was furious that they'd nearly blown their cover.

"Well, you could have done something else."

"Oh my God, Mr. Kill On Sight is telling me not to be violent. Let put a knife at your best friend's throat and see how peaceful you feel. If you had one!" Shadow raised his fists.

"You try and I will…!"  
"You see!" Espio and Knuckles jumped between them before it got out of hand.

"Settle down!" Sonic told them. "Everyone is fine, nothing is wrong. Why are we fighting?" Shadow sighed.

"You're right. Sorry Silver." Silver shrugged it off.

"Don't mention it." Silver walked up to the girls' room, which had become a makeshift infirmary. He met Tails and Amy as they left. "How is she?" Amy smiled.

"Beside from a few bruises and scratches, she's fine. She just needs some rest. You can go see her." Carefully, he opened the door. Blaze was lying on the bed, apparently asleep. As silently as possible, he tiptoed in and sat beside her. He watched her lying there, at peace. There weren't any lines of worry on her face, which usually formed when she was around people. Here she was truly beautiful.

"Stop staring at me sleeping Silver." He smiled as she opened her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" She groaned.

"Like a brick landed on my head. How do I look?"

"Perfect!" She blushed. "How much do you remember?" Her forehead creased again.

"I remember leaving Amy, I remember it raining, going into the alley. I remember them." She smiled. "I remember you saving me. Thanks!"

"Anything else?" he urged her.

"I don't think so," she shrugged. "Why?" His shoulders slumped, just a small bit.

"Nothing. Just glad you're OK," he smiled again. "Come down when you think you can." Then he left, closing the door.

Once outside, he let out a sad sigh. He was back to square one. But not really.

"I love you too," she told him silently from inside.

When she finally came down, everyone was arguing over what they were to do next. "So what do we do know?" Sonic shrugged.

"I have an idea," Espio said. Everyone listened. "If the police decide to investigate, then I suggest we be out of the city for the rest of the week. The best option would be to reside in the island's untamed countryside."  
"Meaning?" Sonic wasn't sure where he was going. For probably the first time in recorded history, Knuckles got it first.

"Camping trip!" They all grinned. Everybody loves camping. So they went off to pack their stuff again. As they did, an idea occurred to Silver. He turned to Espio, who was fitting all his knives into his sleeping roll.

"Espio. This camping trip wouldn't take us anywhere near your mysterious yacht, would it?" Espio looked up, smiling slightly.

"We'll make a detective out of you yet!"

They began tracking at sunrise, which was considered by normal tourists as far too early to get up. So they group managed to leave the town relatively unnoticed. They'd agreed to camp on the side of the nearby volcano, which Espio assured them was inactive. It also happened to the mountain at whose base the boat that had kept Espio so occupied was anchored.

The slopes of the volcano were highly vegetated, which is common among volcanoes. Cooled lava forms incredibly mineral rich soil, perfect for plants to grow. After a point though, the plant life stopped, proof that the volcano wasn't as dormant as first thought. Paths had been formed through the thick plant life, but Espio and Knuckles who were leading, ignored them, preferring instead to make their own. Amy complained as they passed another pre-made track.

"Why can't we just follow those paths?" Knuckles looked back at her.

"Because they could lead anywhere," he cut through some branches with one of Espio's knives. "This way we know where we're going." Amy didn't see how they could have any idea where they were, let alone where they were going. She no longer knew which way was up. Tails called from the back. His pack jingled with the sound of a number of tools and parts.

"You know this is a Natural Park, right."

"So?" Tails shrugged. He wouldn't be the one paying the fine. Finally they found a large, empty clearing overlooking the harbor and with clear views of the mountain's peak. Both views were awe taking. They decided to set up camp here.

Espio, Shadow and Silver's tent was up quickly, as was the girls. Sonic kept knocking his, Tails and Knuckles' down by running to try and do everything too fast, and knocking it down with the resulting wind. It finally got completed through what could only be described as luck. By this time it was nearly dinner. Cooking went a similar way, but everything got done in the end and everyone went to bed.

Silver couldn't sleep. He'd tried, but there was just too much on his mind. So he went out into the pure mountain air. The moon was almost full, sitting high and bright in the sky. Silver glanced at his watch, which read 11:34pm. Moving away from the camp, he sat down on one of the many rock crops that overlooked the bay.

What was he going to do? He wanted to tell her how he felt, but something kept getting in his way. What was it? Absent mindedly, he levitated a pebble, sending it flying far into the bay. What was stopping him telling her how he felt? His hand waved around, and a larger rock flew towards the ocean. Concentrating his frustration, he felt the entire rock formation around him. The tattoos over his chest and arms glowed bright as the psychic energy built. Releasing the energy, he levitated the entire outcrop, a good 5 tonne of volcanic stone. This was insufferable! He could control more than any other thing on Earth, yet he couldn't tell one girl how he felt. Why?!

"You couldn't sleep either?" Blaze was standing at the edge of the levitating outcrop dressed in her pyjamas. Losing his concentration slightly, a few of the rocks got away and rolled down the hill. Silver quickly lowered the rest down before anything else happened. Blaze hopped up beside him, and Silver quickly realized he was still only wearing his shorts. He curled his legs up to his chest. Blaze laughed at his embarrassment. "Come on, I've seen your tats before." Silver smiled back, but remained curled up. Blaze shrugged and lay down to watch the stars. "It's really beautiful here, you know. No cars, no pollution, no noise at all."

"Then why can't you sleep?" Blaze laughed.

"Amy snores like a bulldozer." Silver laughed as well, but he doubted her reasoning. Amy could sleep without a sound, and did constantly during briefings. So why was Blaze out here? Probably heard him throwing stones. Probably, but…

"So why are you out here Silver?" Silver scratched the back of his head.

"I've got a lot on my mind at the moment," he said. Blaze leaned closer, making him even more self conscious.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like…um well…ah," his tongue felt like a thick Italian sausage.

"Yes?" He finally managed to force his tongue into shape.

"Well uh Blaze…, I l…"

_**Bong!**_

"What was that?!" The noise, like a gong but more metallic had come from far down the hill. In the direction, Silver recalled, of the yacht. Another thought came to him. When he'd left his tent before, he hadn't had to step over Espio's body.

"What's he done?" Silver muttered, and sprinted down the hill.

"Hey," Blaze called. "Wait up!"

They ran down the mountain full pelt. As they reached the bottom, Silver suddenly fell over. "Off!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know," puzzled Silver. "I tripped over something. But there's nothing there." Blaze walked over, and caught her foot on an invisible obstacle. The two looked at each other.

"Espio, come out." Espio appeared. He was fully dressed and sported his binoculars and weapons.

"What's wrong?" Then he noticed their clothes. "And what have you two been up to?"

"We don't know, we hoped you did," Silver replied. "And absolutely nothing!" Espio shrugged. He'd find out eventually.

"So what's happening?" Blaze asked. Espio turned back to where he'd been before.

"I've decided to take the direct approach," he said over his shoulder. Blaze was confused, but Silver understood. He knelt beside the young ninja.

"CO2?" he asked.

"Methane." Silver flinched visibly. Blaze went from confused to angry.

"I wouldn't want to be them." Espio nodded.

"What are you talking about?!" Blaze yelled. The boys jumped.

"We can't tell you," Silver said. "It's this code we have for spying." Blaze's eyes glowed a dangerous red. Dangerous because red usually meant fire.

"Firstly, that's incredibly childish!" she told them. "Secondly…" her hand caught fire. Once again, the two unlucky boys jumped involuntarily.

"The code doesn't actually make sense," Espio said, very quickly. "Basically, I've used a gas in the area to knock out the guards." He closed her eyes, waiting for Blaze to decide what she'd do. Smiling, Blaze extinguished her hand. The boys released their breath.

"So what are we going to do now?" she asked.

"Now," said Espio gleefully. "We sneak."

The three of them moved as quietly as possible down rest of the volcano. In the side of the mountain, off from the yacht and the jetty, was a roughly cut hole in the rock face. Inside this opening was a maze of tunnels. A few bodies littered the floor, obviously the unlucky guards caught in Espio's gas attack. The team moved past them with ease.

"Now," Espio muttered to himself. "What are they doing here, I wonder?" They moved through the corridors, looking for anything unusual. Finally, Blaze spotted a room of crates and they entered. The door was unlocked, most likely whoever was here didn't expect anyone to get past the guards. Or even try.

"What are these?" Silver wondered.

"Crates," Espio replied. "It's what's in them that's important." He moved to the nearest one and attempted to pry it open. It was nailed down hard.

Silver pushed him gently aside. "Allow me." Raising his hand, he concentrated hard. His tattoo's glowed, as did the crate roof. Then he moved his hand to the left. The crate's lid was ripped off with a quick _screech_. Silver looked inside.

"What is it?" Blaze called from another crate.

"Arms," he replied

"Firearms?" Blaze gave up and moved up beside him.

"No, arms." Blaze looked inside. The entire box was full to the brim with metallic robot arms.

"Those looks like Eggman's design," she thought out loud. Silver agreed. They moved to another crate, opening it in a similar fashion. This one contained ammo, Vulcan shots and missiles. "I think we've hit the jackpot!" Blaze said. "This is one of Eggman's supply lines!" Silver's eyebrows shot up. They'd been trying to find out how Eggman managed to get all the parts for his seemingly never-ending armies of soldiers, but with no luck. This could be just the break they needed.

"Score!" he silently yelled. "What do you think Espio?" There was no reply. Silver looked around. "Espio?"

_Clang!_

"What the…"

_Clang!_

In less than two seconds, both Blaze and Silver were unconscious.


	6. Chapter 6

Silver slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting in one of the numerous plain rooms they'd seen along the corridors. Metal walls and mass ordered furniture. He tried to raise his head, but a splitting pain struck him in the back of the head. He tried to feel it, but then he noticed his hands were cuffed behind his back.

"So, you are awake." Silver looked up, wincing as he remembered the bump. The voice came from a boy, around as tall as Sonic. Come to think of it, his face and hair resembled Sonic's as well, just a darker shade of blue. Who was this guy, Metal Sonic?

"I am Metal Sonic." Silver moaned. The Doctor had finally lost it! "Now," it continued. "What are you doing in the master's supply line?" There was a groan from beside him. Blaze was waking up as well.

"Where am I?" She looked around. "Why am I tied up," her gaze rested on Silver. "And why aren't you wearing anything?!" She'd obviously still not remembered everything.

"Can we not talk about this now?"

"No I'd rather like to know now, because everything's pointing to a rather bad situation." Silver pointed with his head to the Sonic copy in front of them.

"Except for the robots." Blaze looked around as well. Realization dawned on her.

"Sure, we'll talk later." The robot made a sighing noise. He tapped the side of his head and a miniature fat gentleman with a moustache that seemed to have stolen all the hair from his scalp and a red tailcoat. It was the notorious Dr Eggman.

"Sir," Metal Sonic saluted. "We've caught some intruders in drop 15. What do you want us to do with them?"

"Who are they?" the Eggman hologram crackled.

"We don't know yet."

"Describe one of them." Metal Sonic looked over at them.

"White male with aqua tattoos, thin, silver hair, wearing plain boxers…"

"Why are you describing his underwear?" Eggman asked. "I told you only to use the X-ray system in emergencies."

"Because that's all he's wearing, sir. I would not disobey your orders!" Eggman chuckled.

"Is there a young female with purple hair with him, by any chance?" he asked. The robot looked confused.

"Yes sir. How did you know?" The doctor's chuckle became a booming laugh.

"I think we just caught our little friend doing something they shouldn't be!" Metal continued to look confused.

"Why does everyone make that assumption?" Silver said to the hologram.

"Because it's the obvious one," Blaze said. Then she thought a little more. "And they have sick minds," she added. Dr Eggman stopped laughing, taking the comment as an insult.

"Throw Silver and Blaze in the freezer," he told Metal curtly. "They can finish off their 'good night' in there." Metal saluted as the connection was cut. He turned to the back of the room.

"You heard the master," he said to more unseen robots. "Take them to the freezer to finish up," he stopped. "What did the master mean?" He asked Blaze politely.

"Erm…" Blaze said, surprised by the level of A.I the robot possessed.

"That he needs to upgrade his robots sense of humor!" Silver put in. The robot turned to him.

"Thank you," it said. With a motion of his hand, two robots picked up the helpless teens and took them out of the room. Down the hall was a thick, barred metal door. In here the two were unceremoniously thrown.

"Eggman seriously needs a guest's room," Silver muttered sarcastically. Around them were thick metal walls, glistening from a coating of ice. A few barrels were lined along the back wall, the only markings being a big red danger sign. Blaze began working on her cuffs with her pyrokinesis.

"No good," she muttered. "Must be fireproof. What about yours?" Silver attempted to break his cuffs with his mind. No good. Then he thought of something.

"Come here," he told Blaze. A quick bit of manipulation took off her cuffs. "Eggman's getting lazy. Now try me." She did, but Silver's bonds had been fireproofed as well as psychic proof. "That's just my luck." He began looking for something to beat them against. Blaze lay against the wall. "You're awfully calm considering where we are." Silver began to shiver. "What do you know?"

"They're searching the base," she said, pointing to the wall, which resonated with the sound of clanging metal feet. "They haven't found Espio yet."

20 minutes later, and they were still stuck. Silver's shiver had increased, and the meager flames Blaze had managed to conger were going out fast.

"We're going to die in here, aren't we?" Silver was trying to sit comfortably with his hands still behind his back.

"Yes," Blaze told him. It had been too long for Espio to have left them. If he did find them, it would be too late. Their bodies would shut down in less than another twenty minutes if they weren't heated up.

"So, if I say anything, it won't come back on me, will it?" Blaze tried to give him a curious look, but her shivering made it impossible to read.

"What are you getting at, Silver?" Silver sighed. He was still nervous, but now it didn't matter.

"I like you, really like you. I've been trying to tell you all holiday, but…" he looked down. "I didn't think you felt like that, and I didn't want to lose you. You're my best friend, but I want to think of you as more then that. If you hate me, just say so." Silver couldn't meet her gaze, he was too embarrassed. He heard the scrape as she moved along the floor, trying to get away from him. He sighed. Then he felt her hand on his chin. He looked up at her. She was smiling, a gleam in her eyes.

"Silver," her voice wasn't angry, or hurt. Then she leaned close to him, pressing her warm body up against him.

"Wha…?" His surprise was cut off as her lips touched his. They felt like nothing else he'd ever felt before, warm and soft. Realizing enough of what was happening allowed him to kissed her back passionately. The kiss lasted a good 30 seconds, after which Blaze pulled away. She looked at Silver stunned face, his mind still trying to get a hold of what had just happened. She smiled at how innocent he was.

"If you two are quite done," said a voice from the door. "We have to get out of here!" Silver looked up from the beautiful form in front of him.

"You took your time Espio!" he said, a smile still plastered over his face.

They ran quickly through the corridors, following Espio's lead. "So why did you take so long?" Silver asked.

"Well, firstly when I saw Metal sneak up behind you two there wasn't time to warn you. So I went invisible to not be captured. After he finished his little talk, I followed you to the freezer, but he'd left a rear guard in case you tried anything."

"I really hate it how Eggman's making these things smarter!" Blaze said bitterly.

"Yes, anyway," Espio continued. "I had to cause a distraction to get it to move. And…" They rounded another corner, into what looked like Ground Zero. The walls were scorched and had buckled under the force of the expanding energy. The entire end of the corridor was completely vaporized, leaving a sphere of space a good fifteen metes in diameter. The earth below was a spider web of fissures that seemed to go deep into the mountain's core. Haphazard remains of many robots littered the floor, melded together into unusual shapes from extreme heat. Silver stared with a mixture of horror, surprise and longing.

"You set off the MOAB?!" Espio smiled. Blaze got angry about being left out of the loop again.

"What's the MOAB?" she asked.

"The Mother of All Bombs," Silver said. "Tails' best invention ever. An explosive as big as my fist capable of blowing through twenty meters of solid concrete. I've been dying to see one set off, but GUN said they're too valuable and dangerous to be given to minors," he snorted.

"Then how did you…?" Espio kept smiling.

"You don't want to know." Suddenly something dawned on Blaze.

"Hold on, you set off a massive bomb here?"

"Yes."

"Inside a possibly active volcano?" Espio looked at her, calmness still evident on his face, but not in his voice.

"Kuso!" he muttered in japanese, and started running for the exit, followed closely by Blaze and Silver. "I am so screwed."

As they reached the exit, the tremors started. The ground began to shake like a mad bull. A deafening boom followed. Silver felt like the Earth was going to crack open. They sprinted up the mountain, racing for their camp.

When they got there they found everyone already awake, hurrying to pack the tents away. Without their telltale gelled hair, Shadow and Sonic were nearly inseparable in appearance. No one was properly dressed, Knuckles wasn't wearing a shirt and Sonic had grabbed one of Tails' by mistake.

"What the hell's going on?!" Shadow called to the newcomers. He glanced at Silver and Blaze. "And…?"  
"Don't ask!" Blaze told him. "It's been done already." Shadow nodded and continued working. A glow appeared at the top of the volcano.

"Lava!" Sonic stated the obvious. Leaving the rest of the stuff, the group sprinted down the mountain towards the safety of the sea. Other campers were following their example. Luckily, the lava was slow flowing so no one was injured. As they reached their block, Shadow rounded on Silver.

"What, by all that is holy, did you do this time?!"

"It's hopeless!" Sonic moaned. It was a day after the eruption and he was still trying to figure out who Shadow had been calling, and what the ARK was. He'd managed to rope Tails out of his self moping over his lost tools to get him to help. They weren't having any luck though. The password had been changed and all the information on the ARK was confidential, beyond even Tails' clearance would allow. They'd hit a brick wall.

"So what are you going to do Sonic?" Tails asked. Sonic's shoulders slumped.

"I give up! There's no possible way to find out who that was!" Tails stared at him.

"I just lost all respect for you Sonic," he said flatly. "Of course there's a way!"

"How?" Tails walked into the lounge room where Shadow was making a call to General Rose, his commanding officer.

"Hey Shadow," he said, eyes wide and innocent.

"What is it?" Shadow grunted.

"Who were you talking to a few days ago over the computer?" Sonic jumped so high his head nearly smashed on the low ceiling. Was Tails mad?! Shadow could kill him if he thought he'd been spying. Then he'd kill Sonic because he knew about it.

"My friend Maria. She lives on the space colony Ark." Sonic's jaw dropped.

"Thanks."

"No problem kiddo." Tails walked over to Sonic, still staring with his mouth wide.

"How did you…?" he managed to splutter. Tails gave him an evil grin.

"If people don't think you're doing something wrong, then they don't hide what isn't dangerous." Tails nearly skipped off, leaving the dumbstruck Sonic where he stood.

Blaze was on the roof again, thinking about what had happened over the last few days. She'd nearly died twice, been teased, beaten, frozen, and knocked out. But none of that seemed to worry her anymore. All that she could think about was Silver saying those words. _"I love you." _Now that they both knew how the other felt, what would happen. Would they just drift, pretending it hasn't happened. Or maybe, maybe…

"Hey!" Silver floated up onto the roof next to her. He'd gotten dressed since their adventure, wearing his black jeans and aqua shirt. "General Rose let us off the hook," Silver told her. "Disabling one of Eggman's supply routes made up for using the MAOB. He even forgot about that incident in town."

"Did they manage to get anything on the Doctor?"

"They got most of his supplies, but the robots and Metal Sonic managed to escape." Blaze nodded. GUN hadn't managed to get in for a good three hours, so they had no chance of catching something as advanced as the Sonic copy. It was probably smarter than the original anyway.

"Anything else?" She waited to see whether he'd bring up what had happened the night before. She prayed he would.

"Well…um…ahehe." Silver looked at his feet, scratched the back of his head and chuckled. Now that his adrenaline rush was over, his nerves struck him again. Blaze gave him a gentle smile.

"Still nervous, are we?" Silver just nodded, still examining his boots. She lifted his chin, looking deep into his eyes. All she saw there was an honest, pure happiness and feeling. Then she gave him another exhilarating kiss. "How about now?" He smiled.

"I love you," he said, exactly like she'd wanted him to. They kissed again on the roof of what was now their paradise.


End file.
